


book

by onceuponaplot



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge - November 2014 [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friendship, Gen, Implied Relationships, Minor Clint Barton/Steve Rogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 13:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2624057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceuponaplot/pseuds/onceuponaplot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Writing Challenge Day 15/30</p>
<p>“How did you know?” Tony asks. “What’s your source? Because from what I understood when you were telling all of us about this guy a few weeks ago, you don’t know any of his friends and he doesn’t know any of us.”<br/>Clint sighs and puts the journal back on the table. “Obviously I consulted my book of magic spells and put some tracking voodoo on him.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	book

Tony Stark flops down into the chair across from Clint, sunglasses on and smartphone in hand. He lowers his glasses enough to stare at Clint over the frames in full-on business mode. “Clint, I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want first?”

Clint sighs and puts down the journal he was reading to pin Tony with a stare of his own. He’s been told on more than one occasion that it’s eerie how long he can go without blinking, and since being made aware he’s made good use of the talent.

Stark lasts about thirty seconds before he caves and starts talking. “Okay. Good news then: I saw Tiny Lumberjack heading into the bookstore about five minutes ago, and you could probably happen to run into him if you hurry over there now,” Tony says. What he was doing in the bookstore Clint has no idea – as far as he knows Tony hasn’t set foot in there once since freshman year and doesn’t have any plans to break that streak – but the information is appreciated regardless.

Because he needs to put up at least some token protest before Tony will continue, he sighs, “For the last time, he’s not a lumberjack, and he only wore plaid that one time.”

“Whatever,” Tony says with an absent wave of his hand. “Anyway. Bad news: he was with one of his friends and I overheard them-“

“Oh my god, Tony, please don’t tell me you _followed_ them.”

“-and sorry but it looks like you dragged your feet too long about asking him out. He was telling them how he’s going on a date-“

“This Wednesday, yeah, I know,” Clint says. He picks up the article he was reading again and uncaps his highlighter to mark one of the paragraphs.

He ignores Tony’s spluttering for the next few minutes as he reads and makes notes in one of the margins. Clint glances up again when Tony falls silent, finds himself at the receiving end of an impressive pout.

“What?”

“How did you know?” Tony asks. “What’s your source? Because from what I understood when you were telling all of us about this guy a few weeks ago, you don’t know any of his friends and he doesn’t know any of us.”

Clint sighs and puts the journal back on the table. “Obviously I consulted my book of magic spells and put some tracking voodoo on him.”

Tony rolls his eyes, then steals Clint’s coffee and takes a sip.

“Tony, I know Steve’s going on a date because I’m the date.”

Stark doesn’t spit the coffee back out, but Clint thinks it’s a near thing, and he surreptitiously moves his papers out of harm’s way.

“Barton! When did this happen and why am I only just now hearing about it?”

“You got back from California yesterday and this is the first I’ve seen you.” Clint holds up his hand and waves it around. “Maria told you what happened to my hand last Saturday, yeah? Well, Steve was at the ER too and we talked and we’re getting coffee Wednesday.”

There’s really no reason for Tony to look so scandalized that he was not the first to know about a change in Clint’s love life, but Clint can’t bring himself to pretend that he wasn’t expecting the exaggerated gasp that follows his announcement.

“And you didn’t _text_ me? Barton, I cannot believe you.”

Clint snags his coffee back from Tony and returns his focus to the journal once more. Tony continues his impromptu speech heedless of Clint’s waning attention. It’s good background noise, if nothing else, and Clint only tunes back in when he’s finished reading the article and Tony is winding down. Clint’s a little lost at first – Tony has somehow segued from Steve and Clint’s impending date to the graduate level robotics class he’s taking – but soon he’s laughing at the antics that Tony and his lab partner have been getting up to.

Best of all, it means Tony’s forgotten about Steve for now at the very least, and Clint will be able to avoid further interrogation.


End file.
